


Castor and Pollux

by LadyMuzzMuzz



Series: Navigating the Stars. [2]
Category: Devil May Cry
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Dadgil, Dante is a Responsible Adult?, F/M, Fluff and Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-28
Updated: 2019-09-28
Packaged: 2020-10-24 23:07:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20714057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyMuzzMuzz/pseuds/LadyMuzzMuzz
Summary: A bored Dante is Persistent.A curious Dante is Annoying.Unfortunately for Vergil, tonight, Dante is both.





	1. The Conundrum...

**Author's Note:**

> This story happens a few months after Polaris. Reading that story isn't required, but helps flesh out the background.

It was a clear late evening at Devil May Cry, and Dante was boooooored. He'd read all the magazines he'd collected, front to back, polished Ebony and Ivory until they were spotless, and rearranged his Devil Arm collection. Hell, he even did all the dishes, and did some dusting. Sometimes he wished he could afford cable so he could watch some late night TV, but between Lady's debt collecting, and his pizza<strike> addiction</strike>, appetite, he was lucky to keep the lights on.

So, now Dante was playing darts... with himself. Which was still boring, since his demonic traits (and constant practice for past decade) made him a master dart thrower. So, he had tried handicapping himself, first by throwing behind his back, then blindfolding himself. Those were both off the table when Lady nearly shot him in the head after he missed her by half an inch one night. So now, Dante had found a reasonable compromise, by throwing the trio of darts at the same time, and adding up the totals. He was getting better, but it was still a bit challenge to rack up the points he was used to.

Dante looked forlornly at his jukebox, dark and silent. All he wanted to rock out to some good 70's tunes, singing off key at the top of his lungs. But he didn't, for the same reason the neon light on the front of building was off, signalling that his business was closed. The reason was sound asleep, on the second storey floor above.

No one was more surprised than Dante himself when, four months after his idiot brother raised a giant freaking tower in some ridiculous plan to reclaim their father's power, only to fuck off to God knows where when it failed, showed up on his doorstep one night, with a damn baby cradled in his arms. Dante had immediately assumed his twin had kidnapped the kid, and was planning to use the poor little guy as some sort of sacrifice. That was a few moments before he realized the kid's hair was bone white, and a familiar demonic aura radiated off of him like a piece of uranium.

_Well Shit..._

Dante, being the good brother that he hadn't thought he could be, had allowed Vergil and the kid stay for the week. Actually, it was Vergil that suggested that a week would be all he and his son would need, and then they'd be on his way.

But Dante, despite what Lady would say, was no idiot, especially when it came to his oh-so-stoic older twin. It was clear he was exhausted, despite the glares he'd give Dante whenever he implied that maaaaybe being a single father to a newborn might be a bit of an energy drainer. The poor guy insisted on doing everything, feeding, changing, rocking, and reading to his son, leaving him with precious little time to relax. Twice that first week Dante had found Vergil passed out in hilarious situations, like once at the cluttered kitchen table<strike> puddle of drool under his cheek</strike>, and another, passed out in dingy shower, hot water completely used up. (that earned him a summoned sword in the shoulder, but man, was it was eve worth it)

Sure, it also meant that his brother was too exhausted to make any plans to do some world destroying demonic scheme, but Dante could see that his brother couldn't do it all himself. But how to convince the stubborn bastard to just stay? The key was the smallest of tidbit of info that Vergil had released, after constant badgering. His brother wouldn't tell him anything about the kid, about the mother, the location he was found, when he'd found him, and where he'd been the past four months.

The only things he'd revealed was no, he hadn't known about Nero before he did that idiotic thing with Arkham, (and Dante was predisposed to believe him, both he and Vergil knew what it felt to be left alone as a child, and even with his personality, Vergil would never allow his son to feel the same way.)  
And the other, that Mundus's minions were after the kid, just like they'd been after both of the twins. That had been the key to keeping his brother close to his side. He wanted to protect his son, right? Then what would be better than having two Sons of Sparda keeping an eye on the little tyke.? Even Vergil couldn't dispute that logic, and after a day of hemming and hawwing, agreed. On the conditions that one: Dante would allow Vergil to join the business (Vergil had phrased it as “I'm not going to leech off of you some sort of dead beat”), and two: clean the damn place up.

Dante was so ecstatic, he would've agreed to cutting back on pizza, if it meant that his brother and new nephew (holy shit he was an uncle) were with him. After over a decade, he finally had his family. It was different than before, and there was always some tenseness between the two brothers, but it was a really good feeling.

The first month was when Dante slowly realized that his older brother had changed. Perhaps it was sleep deprivation (Vergil still insisted on doing everything regarding Nero himself, the stubborn idiot), or the fact he was responsible for a quickly growing infant, but Vergil was becoming.... soft. And not in the bad way, since Dante had first hand experience on what it what it was like to try to sneak up on him. (It involved a cut glove and a ruined throw rug.) But his big bro was less focused on concrete future plans, and more on the present. He smiled more, talked more, even cracked a few dry jokes. He didn't refer to Lady by her old name, and didn't constantly insult Dante.

Still, it took almost two months before he allowed Dante to start taking care of little guy. It was a combination of exhaustion and his younger twin's constant needling when he slammed a well worn book of child care in front of Dante, and demanded he read it back to front before he could even think of making a bottle for Nero.

The book was informative, and obviously Vergil had read it like it was assigned for a Book Report. Notes in Vergil's concise handwriting were found constantly in the margins, some were reminders _purchase blender and ice cube tray for mashed food at 6 months._ Others were clarifications_Pacifiers are not __necessary._ But his favourite one was a small note made in the margin of a infant development timeline. _March 31st : Nero smiled at me._

There was some other unfamiliar handwriting, but it is was a few and far between. Just a name on the inside of the front cover, and few notes also written on the margins. Vergil never wrote on those pages. Dante assumed his brother had gotten the book at some used book store, hence the other handwriting, but there was always a niggling worm in his brain, something he couldn't shake.

The fact that Vergil accepted that he'd read the book without serving him out a pop quiz was another sign that perhaps his brother wasn't a cold logical android that he'd seemed to be when they'd met again. Eventually, he'd even let Lady hold Nero (Dante glumly noted that he didn't demand she read the book) who gently cuddled his nephew like he was her own.

Had anyone had told Dante that six years later, he'd be living in relative peace with his eldest brother and his adorable nephew, with a business that actually running in the black, he'd ask what they'd been drinking and ask for a swig of the bottle. But here he was, being a Responsible Adult, and doing things like Keeping the Floors Uncluttered, and Not Making Noise While Nero was Sleeping.

Only now he was so boooored. He threw the darts all at once, hoping to get them all in the thin band of triple twenty, but no dice. Only one came close, landing in a few millimetres away, while the other two had bounced off each other in mid flight, and were stuck in the double 1, and the other on the 5.

_27... blah_.

Of course, Dante could have done the Responsible Adult Thing, and Gone to Bed, but tonight, he had a plan. He rarely made plans, much to his big brother's annoyance, but this was important.

The past two and a half months, Vergil had changed, almost imperceptibly at first, but as the weeks turned into months, it was noticeable, even to his happy go lucky little brother. Dante couldn't believe it, but Vergil's outfit was even more faultless. His shoes were polished almost as much as Yamato, his pant's seams carefully ironed, and he stopped wearing his good overcoat when heading out with Dante to do some demon hunting.

And there was the suspiciously regular 'Solo Demon Hunting' expeditions. Once a week, shortly after Nero had gone to bed around 8:30, Vergil would head out, under the guise of... something demonic. It varied week to week, sometimes it was a “Demon infested warehouse” or a “Reports of demons in some cave”. Always vague descriptions, which got glares when Dante pressed for details. And then, when he came back, always exactly at 11:45 PM, he'd still look flawless. Vergil had a habit somehow avoiding the worst of the filth when they worked together fighting off the most disgusting of monsters, but even he couldn't coat himself in Teflon.

At first, Dante was worried his brother had fallen back into his old ways, hanging around with another bald wife-killing asshole, seeking ways for more power...

**power to protect his son.**

The possibility of that happening caused a chill to set into Dante's veins. It had already happened once, and he'd almost lost the only blood relative he had known at the time (and what would have happened to Nero? He really didn't like thinking about that.) If Vergil was motivated by Nero's safety, Dante knew there was nothing he could do to impede him. There had already been some close calls, and he'd worried that the last one had been the straw that broke the camel's back.

But then, to his relief, the non-physical changes became apparent. Vergil became even more relaxed, smiled more, more forgiving. Not the signs of a man planning some phallic tower raising. It was even effecting Nero, who kept flashing new books about prehistoric creatures in Uncle Dante's face. That's when he realized Nero was the key to find out what the heck was going on. And after an exhausting negotiation (Perhaps he could use his nephew to negotiate with Lady to forgive some of his monstrous debts, the kid was a natural), Dante finally had his answer. It came out of left field, but in light of earlier evidence, it all made sense.

Now, all he had to do is get Vergil to admit it....


	2. Bullseye

_Hey Kid, gotta question about your old man._

_Why don't you ask him, Uncle Dante? I'm busy reading. Did you know a sabre-tooth tiger's fangs were as long as your foot?_

_That's cool, but I can't ask your dad, he'd stab me. But you... you probably can tell me._

_That means dad doesn't want you to know, why do you think I would tell you?_

_Come on Nero, it's nothing big, just want to know what your dad's been up to the past couple months. Even I can tell he's been acting weird, he's been acting like a normal human being. I just want to know what's been making him so....happy._

_....  
_

_Kid?_

_I want one week of ice cream sundaes._

_Uh... _

_If you want to know what Dad's up to, you gotta pay._

_How about two nights of sundaes?_

_Five nights._

_Three nights and I won't tell your dad that I heard it from you._

_...._

_Deal. But you gotta take me out for a sundae first time before I tell you._

_Jeesh kid, you drive a hard bargain, you're lucky you're my favourite nephew._

_I'm your only nephew, Uncle Dante._

As per usual, the sound of the front door being unlocked was heard at 11:45 and Vergil stalked in like it was just a normal hunt, and hung his coat (in pristine condition, as always) on the coat rack. Dante pretended to not notice his arrival by concentrating on the dart board and tossing the trio of darts...

_81 points... not bad, could be better._

In the corner of his eye, he could see his brother glancing at him for a moment, before heading to the bookshelf, and picking up a book.

“Nero's been sleeping soundly tonight, kid passed out shortly after you left” a casual “hmmm” was the only sign his elder twin had heard him.

“Sooo...” Dante began casually, “how was the job?”

“Trivially easy,” came the reply, his eyes never leaving the page. Dante tossed the darts again..

_55 points.._

As he retrieved the darts, Dante mentally changed stances “Glad to hear it... what area of town was it? Might be some easy money there if there's jobs in the area.”

“North side” came the frustratingly vague answer. Vergil must know by now that Dante wasn't going to let it go.

_41 points..._

“Ah, how much did it pay? Couldn't be too much for such a simple job. Hell, surprised you agreed to it, seems below your paygrade.”

_121 points...not bad_

“Dante,” came the irritated reply as Vergil snapped the book closed. “Why do you persist in annoying me with these inane questions?”

The younger twin chuckled, and walked over to the couch his brother was sitting at, before collapsing on the other side. “Because, dear brother, I've fought off thousands of demons, but none of them” he exaggerated sniffing the air “smell like lavender and..” another sniff “is that a hint of lemongrass?”

There it was. Vergil paled just a shade lighter, and a flash of panic momentarily crossed his face. Of course, this being Vergil, in another blink of an eye, it was gone, replaced with his usual stone cold face.

Dante smiled like the cat who caught the canary, he leaned forward, chin sitting on both his hands, “So.... I want details, who is she? Where'd you meet? When? Can I meet her?”

A low growl from Vergil was an indication for him to quickly get out of stabbing range, before his couch had to be thrown out (he really liked that couch, despite the grease stain on one of the cushions) So he went back to the dart board and nonchalantly flung the darts.

_83 points..._

“Stay out of my business, Dante.” a summoned sword dangled over Dante's head long enough for him to notice it, before dissipating into mist. “Consider that a warning”

But Dante was just as stubborn as his brother, and he persisted. “Oh come on Verge, you can't just keep something that big a secret forever” He snatched the darts and tossed them again, “You afraid I'll charm her away from you?”

_18 points... ugh._

A dismissive chuckle came from his brother, “I have no fear of her falling for a manchild like you”

_Crap, well at least he admits the whole girlfriend thing. Time to try another tack._

“Has Nero met her yet?” He already knew the answer to that, but like he promised, he wasn't going narc on his nephew. Vergil remained silent.

“You know,” he yanked the darts out again, and began readjusting the dart flights. “I think she's good for you. Don't think I haven't noticed. You've changed, you've become” he paused, trying to form a sentence that wouldn't cause his brother to just leave the room, he was flying by the seat of his pants at this moment, “well, happier. And Nero too, the kid's happier too.” As he prepared to think of what to say next he swung his arm to toss the darts, he decided to narc on the kid, just a little bit. It was “Nero says you've been smiling a whole lot more, and I totally agree. It's good to see you like this.”

_180 points! JACKPOT!_

As per usual, Nero was the key. The tension in Vergil's form seemed to dissipate. With great deliberateness, he set the book he was reading on the newly dusted end table. This was Dante's moment, so he plopped down (but still kept a cautious distance) onto the couch again.

“So, tell me about her, she obviously means something to you.” He figured he'd start with a big questions, before Vergil clammed up again. Is she Nero's..

“No, she was his...caretaker.” Vergil paused “wait, that's a poor description. She saved Nero's life, gave him to me when I found them, despite not knowing anything about me, aside from the fact I was his father. She seemed to trust me to care for my son as much as she did.” He steepled his fingers and rested his elbows as he bent down, eyes focused in the distance. “I should have kept in touch with her, but... my mind was occupied with looking after Nero.”

Dante said nothing, despite how giddy he felt. His brother, even with his personality changes, was still a man of few words, especially with his twin. No point on interrupting him while he was doing the closest thing to pouring out his heart.

“By the time I managed to return, she'd vanished” Vergil continued, “I tried making inquiries with the local populace, but..” his brows furrowed, “they either acted like they'd never heard of her, or that they were glad she was gone, either way, everything led to a dead end” A trace of bitterness laced his voice, hinting at something more

A soft chuckle “Nero of all people found her. He dragged me into a bookshop a few months ago, and there she was, working there. She's been in the city all this time, right under my very nose.”

“That's where Nero's getting all those books from...” Dante mumbled, looking at the newly built child-sized bookshelf, already nearly groaning under the weight of books. “She really likes Nero, eh?”

“Yes, occasionally we go to the park together. She's very good with Nero, and he constantly pesters me about visiting her bookshop, most of the time to just talk about the newest book he's read.”

“And then there's your dates....”

Vergil rolled his eyes and sighed “Yes Dante...” An uncomfortable silence passed between them, irking Dante to no end. He was so close to his goal of getting his big brother to divulge everything.

“So.... what do you do?”

“We go out to a corner cafe for tea, and talk about literature and such” came the simple reply. Dante was perplexed. He knew his brother was boring, but two months of just that? No one could stand just doing that with him for that long. No, there had to be more going on. Apparently, Vergil could see the gears turning in his head, and decided to cut to the chase.

“What...?”

“That's it... that's all you do? No first, second, third base? No home run? No Horizontal Mambo?”

“Don't be so crass, Dante.” A flicker of anger flashed through face, and for a minute, Dante expected the summoned sword to appear. To his surprise, Vergil closed his eyes and took a deep breath “No, to do anything more would be...unethical.”

That threw the younger Sparda for a loop. “What the heck do you mean by that? It's not like she doesn't like you. For all intents and purposes, all you got to say some sweet words, remove that coat..”

“She doesn't know what we are” Vergil interjected.

  
“Well, I mean, demon hunting is pretty dangerous but--”

“Not that Dante... WHO we are. The blood that flows in our veins”

For Dante, it finally clicked, but he decided to play dumb for a little bit more. He walked up to his desk, picking up the portrait of their mother, and smiled gently at her _Mom, your son is hopelessly in love, and won't admit it to her... help me talk some sense into him._ “I dunno Verg... there's the human blood in us, not actually that exciting”

Vergil wasn't buying his act “You know what I'm talking about.”

“I seem to remember you being all about our demonic inheritance... although the trauma of nearly losing you to the underworld might have scrambled my brain cells”

“Bold of you to assume you have some” Vergil snarked, before returning to his usual serious mood “I take pride in our Father's legacy, for myself, Nero, and yes...even you, Dante” the younger Sparda feigned surprise at the backhanded compliment “But she... she might see it different. She was trying to keep Nero safe from them when I found her.” Vergil closed his eyes solemnly, “I can't....I can't lose her. Neither can Nero.”

Slowly approaching his brother, he sat down next to him, placing a supportive hand on his shoulder. “I understand you, brother, I really do. For years, I tried to forget who I was, because I was terrified of people rejecting me. But... Verg... you gotta take the leap. If she really loves you, she's going to not care at all. Trust me on that.”

“Do..” Vergil started, hesitatingly “do you think Father felt the same when he met Mother?”

  
Dante grinned, “Probably... and he had a couple of millennia to work out his feelings. You don't have that luxury of that amount of time.”

The elder brother stiffened his resolve as he got off the couch and examined the dart board. “Very well, I shall speak to her next time”

“Annnnnd...” Dante had to resist jumping in glee at his victory “as I'm pretty sure she's gonna love you no matter what you're are, can we invite her over?”

Vergil grabbed up the darts and investigated the tips, avoiding his gaze. After a tense minute, he responded, “Very well, on two conditions. First:”

Dante was smart enough to know where this was going “Clean the house, yeah yeah, I'll get on it”

“And Two: Put a shirt on.”

“Aww come on, my outfit is fine!”

“Consider this an incentive” Dante felt a sharp pain in his chest. As Vergil ascended the stairs, Dante looked down at his his exposed torso. There, stuck a half inch into the skin, was a trio of darts. A small stream of blood dripped out as he pulled them out, only to stop suddenly as his healing came into the play.

_Okay, now I know where Nero gets his negotiation skills from._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So ends the second part of this series. Dante's PoV is fun to write, even though he's not the centre of the story. It's a shame I feel compelled to make him the target dummy to his brother. 
> 
> Not to spoil what is about to happens in the next story, but it'll be my debut into the steamy world of written smut!


End file.
